eHealth

On December 21, 2023, the revised EBM (German Uniform Evaluation Standard) catalog for the first quarter of 2024 was published. The most significant changes concern the update of Annex 2 of the catalog, the introduction of the new EBM codes for external electrical cardioversion in adult and pediatric patients, follow-up and evaluation of the health app companion patella, as well as a companion diagnostics test for genotyping to determine CYP2C19 metabolism status.

On November 22, 2023, the Swiss Federal Council approved the digital transformation program in the healthcare system to accelerate the implementation of the Swiss health data space. To implement the program over ten years (2025 – 2034), the Federal Council is applying to Parliament for a commitment loan of 392 million francs.

In November 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published four new Interventional Procedure Guidance (percutaneous thrombectomy for pulmonary embolism, percutaneous transarterial carotid artery stent placement for asymptomatic extracranial carotid stenosis, biodegradable subacromial spacer insertion for rotator cuff tears, extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal for acute respiratory failure) and one Health Technology Evaluation using early value assessment (virtual reality technologies for treating agoraphobia or agoraphobic avoidance). Also, five clinical guidelines were updated.

In late October 2023, the UK Government announced £100 million funding for the “AI Life Sciences Accelerator Mission”. The Mission will advance and expand the use of AI in life sciences and tackle the country’s major health challenges outlined by Life Sciences Vision.

In November 2023, the Danish Regions announced the launch of a national telemedicine solution for patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The telemedicine platform Telma, developed by regions and municipalities, comprises a software application for patients connected to devices measuring patients' clinical parameters (such as blood oxygen), which clinicians then assess remotely.

On November 13, 2023, the Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia released a user guide on the health technology assessment framework: adaptation for digital health technology (DHT) assessment. The guidelines described can be equally useful for HTA agencies, researchers, and developers of DHT, decision-makers, and regulators.

On October 26, 2023, the Innovation Committee at the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) reported that 236 applications were received for innovation funding of healthcare research projects.

On October 29, 2023, the Ministry of Health and Prevention published an Order in the Official Journal of the French Republic setting the tariffs for the medical telemonitoring activities covered within the early digital support scheme. The tariffs are set per patient based on the number of patients involved.

The French National Authority for Health (HAS) released new recommendations about add-on reimbursement of medical devices and medical aids from the meetings of the National Commission for Evaluation of Medical Devices and Health Technologies (CNEDiMTS) in October 2023. Twelve recommendations were published in relation to the registration of medical devices in the List of reimbursable products and services (LPPR). Opinions concern cardiovascular, e-health, endocrine, gastrointestinal, neurology and neurosurgery, neuromodulation, and orthopedic devices, as well as medical aids.

In October 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published two new Interventional Procedure Guidance (percutaneous deep venous arterialisation, vaginal transluminal endoscopic hysterectomy and adnexal surgery) and two Health Technology Evaluations using early value assessment (digital technologies for delivering specialist weight-management services, virtual ward platform technologies for acute respiratory infections). Also, one new clinical guideline was published, and eight were updated.

On October 20, 2023, the Spanish Ministry of Health announced that a budget of 130 million euros was allocated to support the upcoming launch of the Personalized Digital Care Plan. Healthcare digitalization is already a well-established reality that materialized into the Digital Health Strategy with more than 800 million euros budget allocated since 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic.

In late October 2023, the Basque Office for Health Technology Assessment (OSTEBA) is working on several HTAs, including the evaluations in the cardiovascular, diagnostic imaging, e-health, ENT, ICU/OR, nephrology and urology, IVD, neurovascular, obstetrics and gynecology, surgical procedures, and some other fields.